Rotating heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger comprising a housing, a driven rotor in the housing, said rotor including an annular series of finned radially extending multiple tube water conductors and in combination a new and improved water pump; a cold water inlet, and a hot water outlet directly receiving water from the pump, in combination with an annular heating arrangement (preferably gas) in alignment with the annular water conductors heating the same as the rotor rotates.

United States Patent [191 Huettner Mar. 26, 1974 ROTATING HEAT EXCHANGER [76] inventor: Lothar A. Huettner, 57 Holden St.,

Holden, Mass. 01520 22 Filed: Mar. 21, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 343,383

[52] US. Cl. 122/11, 122/367 C [51] Int. Cl. F22b 27/12 [58] Field of Search 122/11, 367 R, 367 C;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Huettner 122/11 Anderson 122/11 X Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Charles R. Fay

[5 7] ABSTRACT A heat exchanger comprising a housing, a driven rotor in the housing, said rotor including an annular series of finned radially extending multiple tube water conductors and in combination a new and improved water pump; a cold water inlet, and a hot water outlet directly receiving water from the pump, in combination with an annular heating arrangement (preferably gas) in alignment with the annular water conductors heating the same as the rotor rotates.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures memmmzs 1914 37991120 SHEE} 1 [IF 2 FIG. I

M! Ml ROTATING HEAT EXCHANGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 3,05l,l44, directed to a rotary hot water and steam generator of the same general type as presented herewith. In the present case a heat exchanger of very small floor space and relatively high capacity is provided based in general on the principles of operation disclosed in said patent but with improvements in water pumping, the fins for the tubes in the heat exchanger and in using a gas fuel rather than oil. The efficiency is greatly improved using a premixed gas which provides a uniform distribution of both fuel and air over the entire burner surface together with exceptional fuel savings, ease in start-up and versatility of the heat exchanger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present rotating heat exchanger comprises a hot water generator, a circulating pump, an induced draft fan, an inlet for the cold water and an outlet for the hot water. The hot water generator is in the form of a rotor mounted on a shaft and located in the housing. The housing, (stator) includes a special new and improved circular pump which comprises a pair of flat parallel circular discs through which the water is forced as the rotor rotates, there being curved vanes between the discs to impel the water to the outlet. This pump is located in an area where the heated water collects.

The rotor includes a series of generally U-shaped finned tubes having a central leg therein with the fins stretching across all three legs, together with vanes therein creating a draft for the flue gases. Each set of tubes receives incoming cold water from a central common source through two of the tubes, this water being heated therein and exiting in the third, single tube, the hot water proceeding inwardly towards the center of the rotor where it is picked up by the pump described above. The water in the single tube is accelerated as it moves to the pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation illustrating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section view therethrough;

FIG. 3 is a detail view illustrating the finned tubes and the vanes therein;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the circulating pump, and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on a greatly increased scale illustrating the finned tube construction.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A housing is mounted on a tripod or the like 12 which carries a motor 14 for rotating a shaft 16. The housing 10 is provided with a water inlet 18 and an outlet 20 as well as a flue 22 and a gas line 24 having an air intake 26, premixing the air with the gas at this point. The mixture then flows through the pipe 28 into the combustion area.

The premixed gas entering from pipe 28 proceeds completely annularly about the entire lower part of the housing in the portion marked 30, see FIG. 1, and this forms the gas chamber for the orifices also annularly arranged in multiples and indicated at 32 in FIG. 2. The flames are located in annular combustion chamber 34 and the flue gases proceed through a a spiral chamber 36 to the flue 22. The inlet 18 comprises a fitting as shown in FIG. 2 and a fixed pipe-like member 40, coaxially with shaft 16 and which extends downwardly as clearly shown in FIG. 2, leading the incoming water into a central chamber 42 in the rotor to be described. The hot water is pumped by means of a special new and improved impeller or pump 44, the latter comprising two spaced apart discs, one of them being mounted on pipe 40 and the other one upon a cylinder 46 fixedly held in position on the housing.

The two discs of the pump 44 are spaced apart and are provided with curved vanes 48, see particularly FIG. 4, it being remembered that in this case the pump 44 is fixed in position and the rotor rotates about its axis which is also on the axis of shaft 16 and the pipe 40.

The upper end of shaft 16 is provided with suitable bearings mounting a rotary hub 50 secured to the rotor generally indicated at 52. The rotor comprises a lower plate 54 attached to which is a peripheral collar or cylinder 56 which together with a top plate 58 comprises in general the cold water inlet and the hot water initial outlet. A plate 60 may be used to divide the cold water at 42 from the hot water which is pumped through the pump 44 to the hot water outlet.

The collar 56 has connected thereto an entire series of generally radially extending vertically arranged U- shaped tubes which are indicated at 62. At the closed end of e ach U as at 64, a third tube 66 is connected into each U-shaped tube and the opposite end of each tube 66 is connected into collar 56 below the divider Each such triple tube arrangement is heavily finned as is shown at 70, and vanes extend through these fins as is indicated in FIG. 3, as at 72. These vanes are tilted in such a way as to provide a forced draft for the flue gases emanating from the flames in the combustion chamber 34.

The flue gases impinge upon the lower leg of the U- shaped tube 62 and then to a slightly lesser degree on the central tube 66, and to a still lesses degree on the uppermost leg of the U-shaped tube 62. The water circulates outwardly by centrifugal force into chamber 42 through the lower leg of each of the U-shaped tubes and the central leg 66 thereof, and these two streams then combine into the single uppermost legs of the tubes 62, thus accelerating the velocity thereof directly inwardly into the chamber in which is located the pump 44, and the hot water is forced thereby to the hot water outlet.

The fins gradually increase in area radially outwardly, see FIG. 3, and this increases the efficiency of the heat exchanger.

I claim:

1. A heat exchanger comprising a housing, a rotor therein, means to rotate the rotor, a heater element on the rotor, an inlet and an outlet for the heater element, said heater element including a plurality of generally radially arranged tubes from the inlet to the outlet,

a heat source arranged adjacent to the tubes, means forming an annular combustion chamber, the tubes being located at least in part in the combustion chamber,

said tubes being constructed and arranged to conduct a cold medium centrifugally outwardly and the heated medium inwardly, a central chamber to which the heated medium is conducted,

and a pump located generally centrally of the housing and said central chamber adjacent to the outlet, said pump forcing the heated medium to the outlet due to the rotation of the heat exchanger.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 including vanes in the pump.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 2 wherein said vanes are curved in a direction to scoop the heated medium toward the outlet.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein the pump comprises a pair of flat parallel discs and vanes between the discs.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein the heat source is a gas flame, there being orifices throughout the area of the combustion chamber through which the gas-air mixture passes from a single source.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 4 wherein the pump vanes are fixed within the housing,

7. The heat exchanger of claim 1 including fins on the tubes, the tubes each comprising vertical U-shaped structures, the inlet communicating with the lower portion of each U-shaped tube and the upper portion of each U-shaped tube leading to the outlet.

8. The heat exchanger of claim 7 including a straight tube leading from the inlet to the mid-point of the closed end of each U-shaped tube, so that a pair of tube parts lead the medium being heated outwa rdly, both communicating with a single tube leading to the central chamber and the pump.

9. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein the fins encompass the lower, upper, and straight tube parts.

10. The heat exchanger of claim 9 wherein the fins gradually increase in area outwardly toward the closed ends of the U-shaped tubes. 

1. A heat exchanger comprising a housing, a rotor therein, means to rotate the rotor, a heater element on the rotor, an inlet and an outlet for the heater element, said heater element including a plurality of generally radially arranged tubes from the inlet to the outlet, a heat source arranged adjacent to the tubes, means forming an annular combustion chamber, the tubes being located at least in part in the combustion chamber, said tubes being constructed and arranged to conduct a cold medium centrifugally outwardly and the heated medium inwardly, a central chamber to which the heated medium is conducted, and a pump located generally centrally of the housing and said central chamber adjacent to the outlet, said pump forcing the heated medium to the outlet due to the rotation of the heat exchanger.
 2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 including vanes in the pump.
 3. The heat exchanger of claim 2 wherein said vanes are curved in a direction to scoop the heated medium toward the outlet.
 4. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein the pump comprises a pair of flat parallel discs and vanes between the discs.
 5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein the heat source is a gas flame, there being orifices throughout the area of the combustion chamber through which the gas-air mixture passes from a single source.
 6. The heat exchanger of claim 4 wherein thE pump vanes are fixed within the housing.
 7. The heat exchanger of claim 1 including fins on the tubes, the tubes each comprising vertical U-shaped structures, the inlet communicating with the lower portion of each U-shaped tube and the upper portion of each U-shaped tube leading to the outlet.
 8. The heat exchanger of claim 7 including a straight tube leading from the inlet to the mid-point of the closed end of each U-shaped tube, so that a pair of tube parts lead the medium being heated outwa rdly, both communicating with a single tube leading to the central chamber and the pump.
 9. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein the fins encompass the lower, upper, and straight tube parts.
 10. The heat exchanger of claim 9 wherein the fins gradually increase in area outwardly toward the closed ends of the U-shaped tubes. 